Rivers & Canyons — 2 weeks
France:  Bordeaux & the Dordogne, the Cévennes

On this page, you'll find...

• a presentation of the trip,
• a thumbnail itinerary with links to detailed descriptions of the itineraries that we follow in each of the regions visited, and...
• ...the prices and departure dates.
  
  

Our route loosely follows the Dordogne / Lot river basin to the source of the waters in central France.  The scenery gets progressively wilder and more beautiful as we advance:  towns are spaced farther and farther apart, cuisine is a purer reflection of the surroundings, the few locals are increasingly surprised by your helmets....

No region of France is a greater contrast between harmony and strife.  The Hundred Years’ War, Catholic - Protestant struggles of not so very long ago, the Camisard revolt... are are still remembered and discussed, and serve as obstacles to marriages between neighboring valleys.

And yet... the towns are made of stone carved from the hills behind them, the agriculture is organic without trying, and the sheep look pretty much the same whether papist or not.  Armed with 200 years’ (relative) peace and prosperity, these are lands that have flourished, and whose harmonious beauty is beyond compare.

At the end of the ride we drop from the mountains to the far side of the Atlantic - Mediterranean divide, and arrive in Provence.  The final riding day of this trip is unsurpassed for its startling contrast.  You feel like you have arrived on another planet, not in another region.

Wonderful biking, good wines, food which has never seen a chemist – the essence of France, but which delightfully overcomes its stereotypes.  And a chance to plumb the depths of a fascinating (and tasty) culture.